Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 92

Devanagari script

दौःस्थात्तदपि नो कुर्युः प्रायशस्तु पितामह । तेनास्माकं परा पीडा क्षुत्पिपासासमुद्भवा

Transliteration

dauḥsthāttadapi no kuryuḥ prāyaśastu pitāmaha | tenāsmākaṃ parā pīḍā kṣutpipāsāsamudbhavā

Translation

Contudo, por causa da pobreza, muitas vezes eles não fazem nem mesmo isso, ó Avô venerável. Daí surge para nós uma dor intensa, nascida da fome e da sede.

Word by Word

• dauḥsthyāt: from poverty/distress
• dauḥsthyāt: Apadana (Cause/source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dauḥsthya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, पञ्चमी (Ablative/अपादान), एकवचनम्

• tat: that (rite)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, द्वितीया (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचनम्

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (also/even)

• naḥ: of us
• naḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचनम्

• kuryuḥ: they would do / may do
• kuryuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम्

• prāyaśaḥ: mostly
• prāyaśaḥ: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prāyaśaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (adverb: mostly/generally)

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (particle: but/indeed)

• pitāmaha: O Grandfather (Brahmā)
• pitāmaha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गम्, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचनम्

• tena: therefore, by that
• tena: Karana (Instrument/Reason/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुल्लिङ्गम्, तृतीया (Instrumental/करण), एकवचनम्

• asmākam: of us
• asmākam: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचनम्

• parā: great, intense
• parā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचनम् (agreeing with pīḍā)

• pīḍā: pain, affliction
• pīḍā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pīḍā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचनम्

• kṣut-pipāsā-samudbhavā: arising from hunger and thirst
• kṣut-pipāsā-samudbhavā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣut + pipāsā + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः—तत्पुरुषः (kṣut-pipāsābhyāṃ samudbhavā = arising from hunger and thirst), स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा, एकवचनम् (agreeing with pīḍā)

Speaker

Pitṛs, addressing Brahmā (pitāmaha)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brahmā (Pitāmaha)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pitṛs describe human poverty: a contrasting tableau of humble households unable to arrange śrāddha, while pitṛs appear faint with thirst, appealing to Brahmā.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Brahmā
• Śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Neglect of ancestral duty—often from hardship—has karmic and subtle consequences; compassionately, dharma seeks accessible means so Pitṛs are not deprived.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; the focus is on the Pitṛ-condition when rites are omitted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse highlights non-performance of śrāddha due to poverty, setting up the need for an alternative method.